City of Garden City, Michigan Police Department Center
Click It or Ticket
The Click it or Ticket campaign was adopted as Michigan's enforcement and public information campaign as a result of an upgrade to the safety belt law in March 2000. The campaign focus is increasing awareness of and compliance with Michigan's safety belt and child passenger safety laws. Safety belts save lives!
Some Facts about Traffic Crashes and Safety Belt Use
The reality is that traffic crashes are devastating. We lose the equivalent of a fully loaded 737 airplane each day in this country on our highways due to traffic crashes. While America continues to wage a full-scale war against terrorism, both on our own soil and overseas, why do we continue to accept and tolerate the reality that traffic crashes claim lives everyday?Safety belts can prevent serious injury and even death in a crash. 1,328 persons were killed and 112,292 persons injured in traffic crashes in Michigan during 2001. Less than half of the people killed were wearing a safety belt. Studies show that 3 out of 5 of these victims likely would have survived if they had buckled up.The public knows they should buckle up for safety. But despite this awareness, research shows that many are not taking the steps necessary to protect themselves and their children on every ride.
Many people are under the mistaken notion that trips around home are safe, and they fail to make it a point that everyone buckles up. The truth is, most traffic crashes happen close to home – where people do the most driving.
According to a review of crash statistics, Michigan experienced 76 fewer traffic deaths in 2000 and a continued decline of an estimated 52 more lives in 2001.Every hour, at least one person in this country dies because he or she didn’t buckle up. Failure to use a seat belt contributes to more fatalities than any other single traffic safety-related behavior.
Seat belts save lives everyday: Seat belts are the most effective safety devices in vehicles today, estimated to save 9,500 lives each year.
Seat belts prevent injury: Seat belts and child safety seats help prevent injury by 1. Preventing ejection from the vehicle. 2. Shifting crash forces to the strongest parts of the body’s structure. 3. Spreading forces over a wide area of the body. 4. Allowing the body to slow down gradually. 5. Protecting the head and spinal cord.
How To Wear Your Safety Belt
To get the most benefit out of your seat belt, you should wear it low over the pelvis with the bottom edge touching the tops of the thighs. The shoulder belt should be worn over the shoulder and across the chest, not under the arm and over the abdomen. Make certain that the shoulder belt is not worn so loosely that it does not slide off your shoulder. Pregnant women should wear the lap belt below the abdomen and the shoulder belt above the belly. Wear your lap belt and shoulder belt: Research has found that proper use of lap/shoulder belts reduces the risk of fatal injury to front seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent (for occupants of light trucks, 60 percent and 65 percent respectively).
Michigan Law
Michigan law requires:
* All front seat passengers to be buckled up
* All passengers under age 16 to be buckled up, in all seating positions
* All children under age 4 to be in an approved child safety seat, in all seating positions
The Garden City Police Department asks that you protect yourself and the ones you love. Buckle up on every trip.
Child Safety Seats
Child safety seats, used correctly in passenger cars, reduce the risk of death by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers. In light trucks, the corresponding reductions are 58 percent and 59 percent, respectively.
The City of Garden City, Michigan City Hall Offices are Located at 6000 Middlebelt, Garden City, MI
